Dawgs Beat Tide, Red River Thriller, Is UCLA For Real?

All right.

Welcome to the show.

Others receiving votes.

This is the uh overreaction Sunday edition.

Uh, joined as always by my Sports Illustrated colleagues, Kevin Sweeney and Brian Fisher.

I am Pat 40.

You can find us on YouTube, SISI.

com, all the places where finer podcasts can be located.

And guys, I felt like the season Really hit a different level on Saturday.

It, it had been to me, I thought the first half of the season had been a little bit meh.

But now, I, I've, I'm converted.

I'm, I, I think we've, we've, uh, we've hit the mayhem , we've hit the drama, we've hit the unpredictability that makes the sport what it is.

Uh, I was at Georgia, Alabama.

Brian was at the Red River game.

We had Kentucky and LSU play a free for all.

We had whatever happened in Eugene with UCLA and Oregon.

We had Indiana get pushed pretty much to the brink on the road at Nebraska, and plenty of other things besides.

So, it was a really, really fun, absurd, anger-inducing, stupefying Saturday, uh, I thought, gentlemen.

Um, let's get, let's go ahead and start with, with the game I was at, Georgia, Alabama.

Uh, hurricane was a dud, that didn't materialize.

We had like no weather, basically.

It was a little bit drizzly, kind of spitting, and that was it.

No wind to speak of.

So the wind, the, the, the, the, the hurricane didn't live up to it, but, uh, the game I thought was very good, very fun.

Um.

Two really good teams playing a very tight game as they tend to do.

And, uh, one really bad call that I think, uh, was, was significant in the outcome of it, but Georgia did what it does against everybody but Alabama, but now is able to do against Alabama, which is to grind somebody down, beat them up, and find a way to win.

So, uh, the Dogs took that game and are now the last unbeaten team in the SEC.

Uh, we're taping this on Sunday morning, haven't seen the new poll yet, but they'll assuredly be number one.

Uh, gentlemen, let's, uh, let's hear your thoughts .

I know, Brian, you were probably riding Red River.

You might, I don't know how much you got to see the game, but Kevin, I'll start with you, what you saw, uh, from Tuscaloosa.

I, I, I thought it was a heavyweight fight, right?

Like, I think it was everything you would expect from a game of this magnitude, uh, a rivalry of this magnitude, um, you know, I thought it coming in that this would be a game maybe decided by mistakes, uh, right?

Like, would, would Keelan Russell, like, would you, would you get, get enough highs to, to outdo the lows, and like, I thought he, for the most part, played stable enough to Uh, to win them the game, like, it was a mature performance for him, uh, but at the end of the end of the day, like, the immaturity comes in the final moment for Alabama, with the, with the penalty and, uh, obviously, the, the Kaylin De Boer reaction, which has gotten a lot of play for, I don't really know what reason, like, I, I, I'm confused why anyone is upset that a coach is angry at a player for uh slapping a guy in the face and costing his team a chance to win the game, like, it seemed pretty.

Pretty earned to me, um, but, yeah, I, I, I thought coming in that that would be the story was, was, would Georgia be able to disrupt Russell and make him make mistakes, make him make a catastrophic play, and, and he never did, but he was just uncomfortable enough that this Alabama offense that's been so good, couldn't get into the rhythm that they've found, and uh Georgia is just a little bit tougher, a little bit more disciplined in, in the key moments to to win a monster game on the road.

Yeah, I, I mean, they know who they are, you know, they're, they're in Athens, like, I mean that that is an established program, you know, when you come in as a freshman and when you leave as, as a, I guess 5th year senior now, um, you know, you, you know exactly what's going to happen every single day that you're gonna be there, and I, I think that kind of showed up, um, you know, in this game, those, those repetitive reps and, um, you know, I, I, I definitely feel that, you know, Georgia is, is not only a true national title contender, but like, you know, they, they are capable in my eyes of, of now getting over the hump, getting to Vegas, winning it all, like I, I.

I felt there were some, some reservations, mostly just because of the quality of play in terms of some of their opponents coming into the year.

But now having beaten Alabama in this manner, you know, you think they're all right, they're one of those, uh, 4 or 5 elite teams in the sport right now that are favorites to get there to Las Vegas.

And, you know, I, I thought it was, was interesting too, like this, you know, looking at the narratives more, more so than the game.

Like this was the weekend in Tuscaloosa where they're, they're opening the Nick Saban documentary and, you know, they're, they're having a whole bunch of hoopla around game day and, and, and.

Everything happening and, um, you know, who was the program that looked like those Nick Saban teams and those Alabama teams ?

Who was the one that had discipline?

It, it, it was Georgia.

And at the same time, I actually think you, you can go away saying Alabama actually is, is probably in an even better position.

Yes, they cost themselves at the end, but in terms of Key and Russell's performance, uh, you know, like every, everybody, the, the defense at like, I, I think Alabama can walk away saying, all right, even though we lost this game, we can still make it back to Atlanta.

We, we can still contend for a national championship versus I think there were some, you know, legitimate questions, uh, surrounding this program coming into the game that, uh, I think ultimately got answered.

And, you know what, uh, a play here or two, you know what, that's going to cost you in the SEC nowadays, given how closely matched a lot of these teams are.

Uh, I'm not expecting either one of these teams to, to, you know, continue to run the table, but, um, you know, they, they've established themselves in terms of having that high floor and, and being ultimately able to reach that, uh, ceiling of winning the national title.

I, I, I think, you know, both teams can kind of walk away and say , hey, we feel good about where our program is right now.

Yeah, I think so.

I mean, nobody lost anything irretrievable, that's for sure, on Saturday, and Uh, the thing that just impresses the heck out of me with Georgia, Brian, you alluded to it.

They are who they are, and that's who they're gonna be, and you can't.

Knock them off of that, right?

Like, their top two running backs are injured and out, doesn't matter.

Here comes the third stringer to run for 120 yards, a guy nicknamed Peanut.

Uh, their backup tight end makes a 53 yard catch.

The receivers, it's like they come and go, 00, you know, here's a guy who hadn't made a play in 3 weeks, so he's gonna make several plays, Craig Dandridge.

Defensively, doesn't matter who's hurt, they got 20 guys on defense that can come at you.

I mean, it's just, The The, the ability to recruit talent, develop talent, retain talent, get people to buy into not being a star per se, because you look like the statistics, they, nobody really jumps off the page.

But then you see him, and it's just like, oh my gosh, this is just a team of monsters.

And Chris Cole, the linebacker, we're talking to him afterwards, and yeah, he was great, and he is great.

He had 2.5 sacks, I mean, he was everywhere.

But that dude is a huge linebacker.

He's really tall and long and rangy, but also he like, he, he, not many people have linebackers who look like him.

They've just got those guys.

They've got creatures, and they're, they're hardworking, disciplined, physical, mean creatures.

Uh, it's, it's impressive.

And, you know, the one thing I think was, I wasn't sure about Gunner Stockton.

This season, he's convinced me.

He's played well going into this game, and then in a big spot.

He played very well.

And that's a little bit was the difference between him and Keyan Russell.

Keyan Russell, you watch him, and that's, he's electric.

He can, he runs like an elite athlete, he throws with elite arm talent, he's got it.

He's just younger.

He's gonna keep getting it.

I mean, I think this dude is an absolute star in the making.

He just wasn't the most experienced quarterback on the field.

And maybe didn't have the most experience around him.

Now, Georgia also, as I alluded to, benefited from a pretty flagrant pass interference in the end zone that would have put Alabama closer for a tying field goal or possibly go-ahead touchdown in the final minutes.

That didn't get called.

Uh, I think there was some overall, just some, some iffy officiating throughout the game, but that was a huge one.

But then, Yeah, Kevin, you said that, the, like the, the personal foul ended the game.

And I don't blame Kaylin DeBor at all for getting mad at him.

What do we, like, are we in an era where a football coach can't get on a guy who makes a game losing decision that is not lack of effort, it's just pure lack of composure.

Uh, to me, that's, uh, that, that, I have no problem with the coaching there.

But, uh, that was part.

Actually, in, in order, probably part 3 of Chronological it was happening, but a 3-part SEC drama where it's always something.

Uh, but the, the other, the, the earlier part, Red River.

Brian, you were there for that.

Heck of a game, and I, this.

Probably is the best rivalry in terms of knowing that the underdog is going to show up almost every time and just play their guts out .

And that's what I expected from Oklahoma, but I didn't expect them to win.

And they did that in, in really pretty heroic fashion.

I mean, special teams plays, defensive plays, incredible catches, uh, I mean, just, just everything to pull that thing out.

Brian, tell us about the scene and tell us about what Oklahoma was able to do.

Well, yeah, I mean, to your, to your point, you know, I, I've been going to Red River for, you know, 30+ years at this point, and, uh, you know, I, I, I always say this is a bucket list type of game because you, you know, nobody's ever out of it.

It, it's just, it is one of those rivalries where, you know, the underdog, and, and you really can throw out the records, like, like legitimately throw them out because it doesn't matter who's highly ranked, it doesn't matter who's good.

Uh, now, sometimes there's, there's the occasional blowout, but more often than not, these are gonna be back and forth, seesaw type affairs and, and we certainly saw that and Um, you know, I, I, I definitely thought Oklahoma had at least a chance just because of the mystique of, of the rivalry to, to do something.

We knew they had a good defense.

It was all about can the offense come to play.

We saw that in the second half, certainly, um, you know, John Matt, not, not the prettiest performance by, by any means, but he made the throws, you know, the, the, the back shoulder to C Saenia, uh, that got him in, in, uh, position for the field goal late.

Like, I mean, everything that had to happen, um, you know what, that they came up clutch and, uh, that, that's, that's the nature of this, this.

Game and it's certainly a great atmosphere.

Um, you know, I'm a little disappointed, you know, the, the new press box there is, is sealed in, so you can't really get a sense of the crowd like you could , at the old place.

But I mean, it, it was coming through in terms of just the Oklahoma, uh, you know, excitement factor as they kept, you know, kind of just stay, staying around, just, just kept hanging in there, kept hanging in there, and then they started to make those plays in the second half.

You start to get, get a little tight on, on the Texas sideline and you could sense that every time Oklahoma would make a, make a huge play like that half of the Cotton Bowl.

Man, they were, they were up in arms and, and everybody was, was going wild.

And I think that that team kind of fed off that, you know, to, to, to be honest, um, on, on both sides of the ball.

And, um, you know, this was a case where, you know, as, as I wrote in my column, like the, the takeaway leaving this one is that Texas has some issues.

You know, we, we've seen them play one great quarter this season, and they've kind of coasted on that a little bit.

But beyond that, you know, there's, there's some issues.

Special teams has been an issue that reared its head in this game.

Uh, obviously, execution on offense, like, you know, they, they go 3 and out more than anybody in the, in the.

In the league at this point, that is an issue, especially when you have a Cam Coleman and Arch Manning, you know, some of this high-priced talent.

You, you bring in, uh, 22 terrific running backs, and they don't, you know, they average less than 4 yards of carry again this game.

So there's, there's, there's a lot of issues there for, for Texas to fix, but, um, you know, kudos to Oklahoma.

They, they got the job done, uh, when they needed to and, and really kind of saved their season.

I, I think this is one of those kind of momentum wins where they, they can coast off it and can continue, uh, to take that into a very intriguing SEC schedule, uh, coming up as well.

I, I mean, I, I, I just think Texas lost this game more than Oklahoma won it, and I, and I think you obviously give credit to, to Oklahoma for staying in the fight, right?

That was the, in these rivalry games, that is the key, as much as, as winning it, it's just hanging around, hanging around, finding a way to to to to linger and and put game pressure on, and I thought they did a great job of that, but at the end of the day, a disastrous pick 6 , a blocked punt, uh, just the mistakes from Texas, like, Oklahoma had 238 total yards in the game.

How in the world do you lose a football game in, like, when you have the amount of offensive talent that Texas has, when your defense holds the team under 250 total yards, and it's, it's just mistakes, and especially, I think, knowing, coming into the game, what you were dealing with in terms of what Oklahoma's offense has not been so far this year.

Like, I, I, I, I just think it, it, it, it, it's a really bad, really unforgivable loss to me for, for this Texas group, and obviously, again, weird things happen in rivalry games and uh it doesn't have to define Texas's season, but this is gonna be a hard one to to remove from the memory bank, because, as Brian said, like, we, we, we just haven't seen enough great from Texas to Wash away performances like this in huge spots, and their schedule is very demanding here, uh, in the next month.

This was, this was one you needed to have, in my opinion.

This is, this is, this is a bad loss for, for the Longhorns.

Uh, yeah, I, I agree.

Uh, and again, rivalry magic, that's awesome, but still, Texas, hey, show up .

Uh, I, I, I, Arch Manning, gotta play better.

Two interceptions, one a pick 6, that really helped bring Oklahoma back, and then the interception that set up their, uh, game-winning field goal.

So, Uh, They, I, I, people continue to talk about Arch Manning as the number one pick in the NFL draft.

Somebody's got to show me why.

I don't see it.

Oh, I, you know, I, I'm sorry, I, he's OK.

He's pretty good.

The amount of talent around him, they should be doing much more, as Brian alluded to.

There's just that firepower they brought in that they paid a lot of money for is not firing.

They did have the one great quarter against Ohio State, and they made plays and they executed, and otherwise, they have been.

Mediocre.

And I will say this.

Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be five-star quarterbacks.

It's hard out there.

I was looking at this over the weekend.

We've got Arch, who was the number one quarterback in 2023, and people thought, you know, the, the, the, the absolute savior quarterback.

So far, no.

I mean, I, not a bust , but he hasn't been great.

2024, Dylan Rayola, oh my.

Two tough years at Nebraska, transfers to Oregon, comes off the bench and plays well, um, in a largely pressure-free spot, uh, for the Ducks against, uh, against USC.

I shouldn't say pressure-free, but still, Had the better team that day, and then gets the start here against UCLA and gets benched for a walk-on cause he was so bad.

Three turnovers, 2 interceptions, a bad fumble.

2025, top quarterback, Bryce Underwood.

What are people saying in Michigan?

Is this what we got?

Where's the, where's the superpower from him?

2026, it's unfair to really even judge these guys yet, but a couple of them that have been thrown in at from the top of the class right into the fire, Fazon Brandon, Jared Curtis, it's not working out too well so far.

Fazon Brandon was either benched for bad play or is hurt.

You know, they both, both reasons have been given, but George McIntyre has been the quarterback for most of the last two games for the Vols.

Brandon struggled, which again, I, I don't blame him.

He's a freshman.

Jared Curtis has struggled.

Vanderbilt, I don't blame him.

True freshman, but you get thrown into these situations, you get a bag of money right off the bat, expectations go through the roof.

It's not that easy.

Uh, thoughts on any of those guys?

I, I mean, the one thing that stands out to me is , is just the lack of stability for most of them, and it's not just they're transferring, uh, which some of them are, and bouncing around and, and struggling to find footing there, but it's the constant offensive coordinator changes, and the head coach changes, like, and part of that is just the reality of Like, I, I, I, I think when you get the amount of hype that these guys get, that then the expectations rise for the football team and doesn't work, right?

I think Nebraska would be a good, be be a perfect example of this, right?

Like, Rayola comes in with all this acclaim, but he had, what, he had, I think he had two different offensive coordinators, and then now he's transferred and he's into a third system, um, Bryce Underwood, 2nd offensive coordinator, like, when, again, this is not to absolve some of these guys of their poor performances, it's, it's very real, but Like, I, I think we spend a lot of time focused on, man, these guys have no stability cause if they don't play, they just transfer and they bounce around.

It's like, they don't have stability in the environments they start at.

So, so, how, how are we ever expecting an 1819, 20 year old quarterback to blossom into uh the type of player that, that, that you want him to become when he never has the same voice in his ear for 2 years in a row?

Like, like, I, like, we, we talked about Gunner Stockton, right?

Is he the most talented quarterback in college football?

No, but there's some, like, real stability there, uh, and obviously, like, they, like, they've had, they've had some things change, like, there's obviously been a little bit, like, like, for the most part, Georgia is Georgia, Georgia is trying to beat Georgia every single year.

Gunner Stockton knows what he needs to do to succeed in this system, and I think that, that to me is the difference and And, and why, like, when you're trying to pick a horse to back in the five-star quarterback sweepstakes, it's like, who has the, the right stuff around them and who has an environment where, like, yeah, there's, there's willingness to wait and develop, but there's also willingness around the quarterback to put the people around him that want to work with him for 2345 years and not 6 months.

Yeah, I mean, we, we see, we, we see the same thing in the NFL, right?

You know, it's, it's not necessarily even, you know, these talented guys that we, we see their obvious, uh, you know, what they can do with the football in their hands.

It's, it's the, the people around them.

It's the organizations that, that fail talent and, and we're seeing that at the college level.

I think everybody comes in and, yes, you know, Pat, you know, to, to your point, like you, you, you get paid a bunch of money and you're the five-star and you're labeled the savior and, and, uh, nobody ever looks about like, all right, well, what's, what's your offensive line situation?

Who, who are you throwing to?

Like, I, I mean, truly, maybe Texas might be a great example of actually trying to address a lot of those issues, but it is not aligned, uh, to, to elevate Arch Manning, you know, it's, you know, to be one of those top tier quarterbacks, you should be elevating a team, and, and we haven't really seen that out of a lot of those five-star guys and, you know, truthfully, I think a lot of coaches, um, you know, nowadays , and, and now they're general managers too, um, you know, kind of say, you know what, they're, they're, they're, we're, we're, we're gonna be, uh, we're we're gonna hitch our wagons to these five-star.

Guys, they're, they're gonna pull us along.

It should be the, the other way .

We, we should be pushing those guys, um, you know, to, to really bring us along as a program and, and, uh, making sure that everybody is, is, is on the same page and whether it's constant coordinator turnover, uh, I mean, you look at that, that the roster, uh, turnover as is, um, you know, it can be difficult and, uh, you know, it's not just, uh , you know, easy, an easy wake up and recipe where you just throw it in and, and turn a little knob.

You know, you, you got to develop that chemistry.

You got to make sure that everybody is on the same page and, um, you know, I think a lot of these programs that they do kind of get uh a little bit wide-eyed when, when they get, get involved in one of these top tier quarterbacks and uh, not kind of think about, all right, well, how, how are we gonna make sure that this investment in, in a very key player at the most important position on the, on, on the field is really gonna pay off for everybody.

And I think that that's gonna be the same thing that everybody has to kind of consider moving forward.

Uh, you know who is performing extremely well at quarterback?

Leading the nation, the top two players in the nation in pass efficiency?

Darian Mensah, who is the number 112 quarterback prospect in his class, according to 24/7 Sports.

Number 2, Josh Hoover, Indiana, who was the number 42 quarterback in his class.

Gunner Stockton's 3rd, he was not the most celebrated recruit out there.

Julian Say was, but, uh, Right place, right surroundings, right coaching, and the one place that continues to defy all common sense.

Indiana, and Kevin, everything you said about stability around a quarterback is true, but you go to Indiana and you become better.

Fernando Mendoza becomes the Heisman winner, just walks in.

And is that guy, Josh Hoover, new in the program, throwing to guys he didn't know, Michigan State, they, they bring in Nick Marsh, you know.

So far he's been fantastic.

What's the one thing Indiana quarterbacks don't do?

They don't screw up because Kurt Signnetti won't tolerate it, and Mike Shanahan won't tolerate it, and they don't put the quarterback generally in a position to screw up.

Josh Hoover was a little bit interception prone before he got there.

So far, 0 interceptions in 6 games.

It's just, it's astounding what they do.

And then there's Indiana West Coast version, or should I say, James Madison West Coast version, uh, kudos to Uh, JMU Sports News, a very humorous, cheeky Twitter account, which, as they note, that James Madison itself is 6-0.

JMUCLA with Bob Chesney, who used to be the James Madison coach, is 5-0, and JMU Bloomington with Cignetti, former JMU coach, is 6-0.

Strong start for James Madison and its satellite campuses.

So, uh, kudos to them, but it is astounding what.

They're all doing, but let's talk about UCLA, uh, which, like, this is wild.

I mean, you go into Eugene, very difficult place to play, double digit underdog.

But let's, let's be real, Oregon did a lot to lose this game, a lot, 7 turnovers, 7 turnovers.

But James, I'm sorry, UCLA forced a lot of them.

UCLA made the most of what they had.

Niko Iamalava gets knocked out, doesn't play in the second half.

Speaking of non-five star quarterbacks, Ty Diefenbach.

Uh, transfer from Cal Poly, where he had 9 touchdowns and 9 interceptions last year.

Uh, before that had been at Pitt and never saw the field.

He was, uh, number 46 quarterback prospect in 2023.

He's also the nephew of Paula Bovin, former sports writer, now, Uh, journalist instructor, professor at Arizona State, and a former member of the College Football playoff selection Committee.

I was kind of joking about this dude from Cal Poly, and she said, that's my nephew.

I was like, whoa, good for you, good for him.

Anyway, like what they're doing is insane.

It's completely insane to go to Eugene, lose your starting quarterback, and win the game.

Um, Kevin, I know you've obviously been following Chesney and, and the exploits there, uh, your thoughts on that one.

Yeah, it's, it's funny to think back to the summer, and the way we talked about UCLA and Chesney is like, man, the vibes are incredible.

But like, there's surely no way that they can do the Signetti thing, right?

I don't care how many, like, podcasts with Bill Simmons he's doing and, you know, great interviews and this and that, like, that there's no way it can be this good, this fast, and it, it, it just is, and it, it hasn't always.

It's been perfect, right?

Like, they give up, they, they, they got punched in the mouth in the second half against Cal in the opener, they gave up 38 to Purdue.

Uh, this, this game, obviously, you talk about the mistakes from Oregon, UCLA made a ton of mistakes, um, in many ways, could have lost that football game on, on their mistakes and just like the resilience and the joy that they play with.

Um, I don't know, I think everybody's now seen the video of them dancing the shout before the 4th quarter, like, yeah, again, Bob Chesney's Superpower, it seems, is kind of fostering this environment where guys are unbelievably disciplined in between the lines, but kind of perfect for UCLA, like, wanna have fun, wanna have, like, a good, good vibe about them, like, it's just, it's impressive to watch the way that they attacked that environment.

Um, there was no fear, uh, in this group, and they found a way in Gritty fashion to to win a really tough road game and set themselves up to be a, a serious playoff contender.

Now, again, how good is Oregon right now?

I think it's very much an open question, um, particularly with Dante Moore, with Royola struggling the way he was, but at some point, like, these are not the games you're supposed to win if you are a year one head coach at UCLA and the fact that they keep finding ways to win them.

Uh, that, that says a whole lot about Chesney as a coach and, and where this thing could go here in the, in the coming years, not just this year.

And then , you know, a shout out to, to James Madison themselves who got their first ever win in Statesboro, uh, this past weekend as well, surviving a late field goal.

Uh, so, you know, James, you're keeping up their end of the bargain there for Billy Napier and, and possibly even, uh, remaining in this college football playoff mix just like UCLA and Indiana are.

Wouldn't it be something to see all three of those schools, uh, be there on, on Selection Sunday or even play 111 another.

So, um, I, I, I think, you know, to, to, you know, to, to Bob's credit, like, I mean, uh, you know, he, he talked in the spring when, when I sat down with him and, and, and chatted with him, like he talked about like, The past is the past.

Like what whatever was happening, you know, and at UCLA in the past, like that's , that doesn't concern this team in particular.

Like it was a very forward-facing, uh, you know, approach to not only building a roster and, and you, I give credit to UCLA.

They've spent more on this roster than they ever have in school history.

Like they're actually investing.

At a level that they want to actually get some wins on the football field.

Now, are they in the same stratosphere as, as Oregon and, and USC even across town or, um, you know, the Ohio State's of the world?

No, but they are competitive at least in the Big 10.

And I think that that raises the floor, certainly that, you've got the guys, not just the JMU transfers that Bob brought with him, but like, you know, some of the guys that they've helped fill out the roster.

And, uh, you know, I think there was a lot of focus on, you know, Nico and and his price tag when he came to UCLA, um, Two years ago, but, you know , this was, uh, you know, really an approach, you know, kind of designed to, hey, you know what, we, we need some offensive linemen.

We, we need some, some defensive linemen, we need some, some linebackers.

We need some depth at some of those places.

Let's, let's actually spend to get some of those guys, um, you know, into school, and then, you know what, it, it's about habits, you know, like they, they are building winning habits there in Westwood, and , uh, you can't ever say that was, was the case, uh, probably in the past, you know, 20 years, uh, at this point, um, in terms of just having a, a, a pretty Holistic approach in terms of every day and, and this is kind of getting back to my earlier point about Kirby.

They know what they will need to do every day when they step in there.

Yes, they're having some fun.

Um, you know, it's, it's nice to play with a guy that, uh, you know, brings the energy, uh, whether it's at practice or whether it's in the meeting room.

You see that in some of the behind the scenes stuff that they've, um, released, and, uh, you know, they're, they're going out and executing.

I mean, like, in the past, you know, to, to have those turnovers and be in Eugene and Odson, and to, to lose your quarterback like that, that would have been a, a A place where UCLA would have folded, you know, 10 times out of 10, right?

But, but they didn't.

They, they kept with it.

Um, they stuck with the game.

They, they, they just played within themselves, you know what?

And, and that can go a long ways, especially when the other team is not executing like we've seen with, with Oregon.

And, um, I'm sure we're gonna get into some superlatives later in the show, but like, I mean, this is a, a truly disappointing season there in Eugene because this was, you know, everybody internally and externally said this was going to be the year for the Ducks.

They built up their depth, they built up the, the starting talent.

They got Dante Moore back.

They had every ingredient there to make a national title run.

Well, now, now, and you have an Ohio State team uh coming up on, on the not too distant horizon.

Um, 9 and 3 is not gonna cut it in terms of making the playoffs.

And so I think for, for this Oregon team in particular, uh, to not have the ones that they have, um, it's gonna be very difficult, uh, for them to ultimately realize their own goals.

And, and I'm gonna be curious to see how that's gonna impact the rest of the season for the Ducks because, um, are, are, are they capable of running the, running the table from here?

Sure, they have that talent on hand, but we have not seen it.

Much like Texas, uh, what we were talking about earlier, that we, we have not seen a complete 4 quarters from this team, uh, outside of that blowout win, uh, over an FCS opponent.

And I think that, that, uh, reflects pretty poorly on, on Dan Lanning at this point, um, in terms of some of the decisions that he's made, uh, with, with, with this group moving forward.

Yeah, the thing with UCLA is they do, they have the five-star quarterback, Nikko Yamalava, but he hadn't lit the world on fire.

Again, they are doing it with some JMU guys.

Again, like Wayne Knight.

It's fantastic.

He's 5'7, running back that came over, 22 carries, 103 yards, his third straight 100 yard rushing game.

What they're doing is lining up and running the ball at everyone.

And outlasting people and winning the 4th quarter.

Uh, and yes, Kevin, I, they counterprogramming the 3rd quarter into the 4th quarter hype music is fantastic.

They had been there.

The JMU guys had been there last year.

That might have helped them too in this situation.

Like, yeah, you know, it's a good environment.

It's not that great.

We, we can win there.

They didn't win there at JMU, but they could at UCLA.

Uh, they played well in that second half against Oregon.

They did back in that playoff game.

Yeah, yeah, they did.

So, you know, I, I just.

Everything they're doing, this is, it's just so reminiscent of what.

Uh, Signetti did his first year at Indiana, so we'll see how long they can keep it going.

Just, just one thing on Oregon, sorry, Pat, like, the thing that, like, boggles my mind with where they're at is in both of their losses, they've basically been gifted 7 points, right?

UCLA fumbled, I think, on the 1, Oklahoma, uh, they had a 11 yard drive against Oklahoma State, they also had the 100 yard pick 6, that should have been, you know, Oklahoma State could have ran away from him early and instead they, they run, like, 96 yards back for a touchdown.

Like, a team.

This talented, you should not be able to make mistakes like that against them and win.

And the fact that that has happened now twice, and they have been, like, gifted 17 points essentially in 2 to 2 games where you're the more talented team, like, what does that say about this team right now?

I think that's the, that's the thing that's so crazy, it's like, That they've been, they've been given the breaks to survive some of these kind of weird underperformances and just haven't been able to, to, to finish and execute.

It's, it's sort of boggling, it's sort of mind boggling with, with where they're at, just the way we looked at them coming into the year of the talent.

I'm I'm, I'm, I'm shocked that we're here, but, yeah, like, like, this team has some real quit factor at this point, right?

I mean, with the amount of, like, with what's still left on their schedule, with where they're at a quarterback, I mean, who knows when Dante's coming back, and look, like, should Dante Moore come back from a serious concussion if Oregon's out of the playoff conversation?

There's a question, and you know, like, very much, yeah, I, I hope that's not a conversation we have to have, but like.

I, I, I, I, I don't look at the schedule for Oregon and say, man, like, this is a 9 and 3 football team.

Like, it's great that theoretically they could, but, like, Nebraska's gonna test them next week.

Nebraska pushed Indiana, uh, Northwestern's gonna test them in a couple of weeks, Northwestern's a darn good football team at this stage.

You still have, and then, and then Ohio State, like, what if this is a 7 and 5 Oregon team?

What if this is our, what if this is our Penn State from a year ago?

I'm not, not, not fire own, but, I mean, I mean, think about going back to that Penn State game last year in terms of the fortunes changing on these two programs.

I think that really, you know, that, that overtime, uh, that I was there for, like that kind of set this, this Ducks roster on their way, uh, the rest of last season and kind of they carried that over into the postseason and into here.

But, you know, this year, like I, I also see a coaching staff that's kind of failing or flailing almost at, at, at trying to find answers.

Like, I mean, they were rotating and like they, they, they basically changed their most of their offensive line at times during.

This game.

Obviously, you have the quarterback change after all the turnovers.

Like they, they're, they're trying to find solutions in real-time.

They, they don't have a step B or a plan B, uh, in order to, you know, if something's not working in the game, like they're, they're like, all right, well, let's throw this out there.

Let's, let's see if that'll work.

Like, and, and that to me is probably the more alarming thing if you're a Ducks fan, is that this does not look like a, a coaching staff, a team itself that is capable of getting itself out of some of these situations that they.

Find themselves in right now.

And I think that that's probably the biggest indictment, I think in terms of, uh, the, the program this offseason is, you know what, we, we talked a lot about those, those coordinators.

Well, it's, it's not just them.

Like this is an entire coaching staff kind of issue and, uh, you know, the players need to own some accountability as well because, uh, you know, nothing is working right there in, in Eugene, especially when they get punched in the mouth, you know, initially, um, you know, there's, there's not a whole lot of fight that I'm seeing out of the ducks moving forward.

Yeah, well, they, they replaced both coordinators, and one of them is now 5 and 1 at Kentucky.

Uh, which leads us to the next thing here.

So a little, a few mid-season, uh, Most best, worst, least superlatives to give out.

And, uh, let's start with bust.

Well, I think we've covered Oregon on the bust front.

There's others though, plenty of others.

Uh, I am going to.

Start with a guy you would think for getting 13 million a year, he could win a road game, but so far, no for Lane Kiffin.

0 and 2 on the road at LSU lost to Mississippi in an unbelievably charged atmosphere, and then lost at Kentucky to former Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein .

Kentucky's second straight 35-34 OT victory in which they went for 2 and won the game.

Unbelievable brassy stuff from Will Stein, but LSU.

I mean, right now, that is a paper tiger so far.

That's a massively expensive roster that doesn't travel .

And has not found a way to win close games.

They Punked A terrible, I think a bad Clemson team at home to start the season, that got everybody excited.

They bludgeoned Texas A&M and boy are we're gonna talk about them here on the bus segment.

Uh, but I'm not seeing anything from LSU in terms of like digging in to win.

A tight game so far.

And the schedule there, holy cow.

Uh, if, if you've lost to Kentucky, and strange things happen when LSU goes to play in Lexington.

That's an established fact.

I wrote about that in the forty-yard dash last week.

But still, losing that game, that's a bad look.

Mississippi State coming off an open date, you got next.

You've got Alabama, Texas at Tennessee, uh, all in a row later in the season.

Uh, the LSU fans, that, that ain't what they signed up for here when they stole Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss.

So that's, I'm, I, I would say I put LSU high on my list of, uh, mid-season busts.

What do you guys got?

No, no disagreements here.

Um, you know, I think LSU, you mentioned A&M, uh, I mean, I, I think the Aggies, I mean, the, the fact that, you know, Mike Elko is out there calling out tech sags after the game, you know, things are pretty bad they're in College Station, and, uh, tech sags, that's not your problem.

That's not your enemy.

Those people want you to be good.

Yes, yeah, yeah, I mean, uh, Billy Lucci is, is not the, not the enemy, uh, there in College Station, you know, if anything, so.

Um, you know, but, you know, I'm, uh, uh, and, and it's, it's interesting.

I mean, you look at the amount of, you know, $40 million.

35 you know, $330 to $40 million dollar rosters in the SEC.

You have Texas at 1 and 1.

Um, you know, in, in the conference standings, LSU is 1 and 2, A&M 1 and 3, you know, even some of the others that have spent, uh, you know, a decent amount of money.

I mean, Vandy's 0-3 and looks completely incompetitive for, for even the amount that they're spending.

So, um, you know what, this is the thing about not only, uh, adding the 9th, 9th conference game in the, in the SEC, but like, Just the nature of conferences nowadays.

Somebody's gonna lose, you know what?

And even if you are spending $30 million on a roster or $40 or $45 million you know, if there's not the execution factor, you know, you're gonna take some losses because the, the margins are so thin.

I mean, he, you know, Kirby, after the game, I, I know he mentioned it too, like, you know, it can be the bounce of a ball almost at times in terms of just, you know, getting those key plays to go, go your way.

And, uh, That, that's just kind of the nature of some of the SEC nowadays and, and we've seen that with Lane Kiffin faltering.

But yeah, I mean, there's, there's, there's little doubt that, uh, a few, few people there in Baton Rouge expected them to have two losses before kind of going into their gauntlet of the season, still having to play Texas and still having to play Alabama and some of those other games.

Those, those are now must-win games, um , if you're talking about delivering a playoff team and, Uh, you know, I think that is going to be really amp up the pressure even further there in Baton Rouge, uh, on Lane Kiffin, and I think there, there probably should be some, a, a little bit of grace, but, um, you know, he, he is certainly not not endeared himself in terms of, uh, some of his comments and some of his actions.

So I, I don't think anybody else in, in the conference certainly is going to be looking, um, you know, uh, pouring a little bit of woe is me, uh, for, for the Tigers there.

Look, uh, to me, like the, the best way to summarize this game is that.

The head coach who has made his career on being a riverboat gambler, and Lane Kiffin had 4th and 1 with his uh highly paid quarterback and highly paid offensive line, and he kind of went back into his shell and punted the football and said, here you go, Will Stein, and then Will Stein had a chance to go win the game at the 3 yard line, he said, like, the numbers say I'm right , so I don't, like, like, the, the, there was so much time, I mean, That had to have been, like , a 6-minute process of, of reviews and timeouts and complaints about the play clock, like, there were so many moments and they ran out the weird uh formation with the the Willie Cat, I think they were calling it, with the tight end at quarterback.

There were so many moments where I am sitting there going, man, you gotta walk away now, just kick that PAT, let's play for the 2nd overtime, you got the building on your side, like, Will Stein was.

He he was just more convicted in his football team, I think, than than Lane Kiffin, or maybe he didn't care, right?

Like, there is something to being the underdog, there is something to being Kentucky in that game, and there is something to being Ole Miss, when Lane Kiffin was at Ole Miss, that it does not exist now, that he is the head coach at LSU, that there are these expectations about this football team, and I, I, I just thought he coached scared compared to, to Will Stein, who, uh, again, we, we, we talked about his brashness, his fearlessness when he gets up there at SEC Media Day and says, believe in this program because you believe in me, and I, I, I, I, like, I am uniquely qualified to get this done and, like, he's backed up his words, but It's, it's, it's a lot easier to go out in front of a microphone and talk that way, and it's another, another thing to go out and be that way in a, in a high-level football game when it feels like your season is on the line, and, and I give Will Stein credit for uh trusting his quarterback who made an awesome play, and I, I believe I read that that was a check at the line, that that was not the play call, um, that Kenny Miny saw, saw, saw an opening, so let's go get it, and uh he might have, might have ended LSU's playoff hopes.

We'll see.

Although I do think I don't think we're making it to Halloween before we get the first, you know, actually 8 and 4 in the SEC is a pretty darn good year now, you know, 8 and 4, let's not, you know, if, if, if, can you imagine what these Big 12 teams would be doing in the, in the SEC?

They'd be lucky.

That's definitely coming, we know that, that's definitely coming.

Oh, it's, yeah, it's coming, it's coming, but, uh.

Yeah, they, for a lot of reasons, that game was everything that so far has been wonderfully fresh and invigorating about Will Stein, and also, uh, indicates that, There's a, there's a bit of a burden on Lane Kiffin at LSU and he's not necessarily holding up under it perfectly well yet.

So, all right, those are, uh, I think, I, I'll throw in one more bust for our mid-season busts.

Uh, Penn State has yet to beat a power conference opponent.

0 and 3, they, you know, they played 3 non-factor teams in non-conference.

One of those games they're 0 and 3 in the Big 10.

It was a, it was a good, you know, fun game against USC, uh, not, not a great shame to lose that one, although it's a whiteout.

You, you want that, you know, force of, of the home field to maybe carry you there against, especially against a program that hasn't been great on the road recently, but that didn't happen.

Uh, I think the worst loss , worst losses were before that.

Uh, and I'm looking at Penn State and thinking, You could have had Bob Chesney, but they didn't.

So, anyhow, those, those, that's my bus list.

Anybody else you guys want to put on there before we get.

On to a couple of other things.

Could, could, could I add the entire ACC beyond Miami and Wake?

Like, I mean, sure, I mean, I, I, I feel like SMU has disappointed, um, you know, Pitt, obviously there's probably some injury concerns, um, you know, that, uh, given that they lost their quarterback, Louisville, um, you know, like there's, there's no way that, uh, you know, you, you look at the record in, in 3 and 3 is just disappointing.

No, no, no ways about it.

Like, you know, North Carolina's.

Probably better than, than we expected, but like you go up and down the rest of the conference, like Virginia Tech losing at Cal.

I mean, that's, that's kind of inexcusable.

Um, you know, even in year one for James Franklin, NC State has been terribly disappointing.

Um, you know, even, you know, Georgia Tech has not, uh, not exactly lived up to expectations.

They pull off the, the upset of Duke, uh, this past weekend.

So like, the, the rest of the ACC, um, beyond Miami and Wake, that, that is, that is tough going, especially when Uh, you know, there, there's a big game talk in terms of, all right, we, we want to get 22 teams into the playoffs.

That looks like, unless there's some sort of bid thief scenario in the ACC title game, uh, that is a pipe dream at this point.

Yeah, I, I would add Washington to the absolute crumble list.

I mean, yeah, that team is awful.

Yeah, uh, they were getting absolutely cut up by an Iowa offense, and look, I think Iowa has improved offensively, give Tim Lester credit, give Jeremy Hecklinsky credit, who had the moment of the weekend, maybe when he, he swore at the opposing defensive line to jump, that was terrific.

That was awesome.

I mean, You, you got cut up, like, I have never seen an Iowa offense do that to a like a serious outfit, so, yeah, Washington to me would be on the list.

Yeah, good call there.

That's another team that has yet to beat a power conference opponent.

So, uh, their, their, their victories are all empty calories.

Uh, all right, Coach of the Year, I think we've kind of taken Chesney and Will Stein to a degree off the board.

You guys got anybody else you wanna nominate?

Coach of the half year, let's put it that way.

Well, I, I do mention, uh, I mentioned Wake, so I think Jake Dickert, uh, deserves plenty of praise.

I mean, 5 and 1, you can see a potential playoff path there for, for Wake freaking Forest, um, who's spending one of the, probably the, the smallest, one of the smallest roster budgets, uh, certainly in, in the ACC, if, if not the, the entire Power Four at this point, and they played Miami tough.

I mean, that was a tough game into, into the.

Fourth quarter, I know Miami was banged up in that one, but like this is a, a, a tough group .

And, um, you know, they, they've, they've really looked, they outclassed Stanford, uh, certainly no, no changes.

Everybody kind of expected that, but, uh, the way they just really pulled away from the NC State on the road this past weekend, if they can survive that cross-country trip to Cal, um, you know, like, I mean, everything is kind of shaping up to, if you can beat SMU at the end.

End of, uh, middle of November.

Like you're, you're looking at, uh, getting back to Charlotte and possibly getting a rematch against Miami.

So, um, even, even at 11 and 1, this is probably a team that you probably got to say is, is firmly in the playoff, uh, consideration, which I, I don't think anybody had, uh, before the season.

So, kudos to Jake Dickert.

Um, I'm sure he's going to be one of those coaches that, uh , we're going to hear his name a lot, uh, come to the coaching carousel.

Yeah, I, I, I was gonna mention Dickert as well, like, the job he has done is unbelievable, right?

I, I think when you think back to 2 years ago, when, when Dave Clawson walked away, I think a lot of that was him feeling like, man, like, we, we're not set up to compete anymore, like, this is, this is gonna get stale in a hurry if it hasn't already, and I don't know that that has changed, like, I, I don't think Wake is, uh, Brian alluded to it.

This is one of the least invested in rosters in the Power Four.

Their quarterback was a bust at a rival school in North Carolina.

I, I, I give them credit, they're, again, they're not just beating people, they are beating the brakes off people.

Last year, they, that was like a Houdini football team, they won a lot of games where you looked up and you're like, oh my goodness, how did they do that?

This year's Wake Forest.

is a problem.

So, give, give, give credit to him.

Look, UCLA Kentucky, they have, they have big budgets.

Yes, yeah, it was a surprise that they've done it, but, uh, to me, like, wins above replacement coaching-wise, I think Dickert might be at the top.

Yes, very high war rating for Jake Dickert, no doubt about it.

I'll throw in one more, uh, Jason Eck at New Mexico, we've talked about them, but lost the starting quarterback before the season.

They haven't beaten anybody of note necessarily, but they have crushed 4 opponents and played a 1 score game with Oklahoma.

Their turnover margin is the craziest thing in college football.

They're + 18 in 5 games.

They have 19 takeaways, 7 fumbles, 12 interceptions.

That's probably not sustainable, but they've done it this far.

Uh, it's, it's just astounding.

Hey, we lost our quarterback.

OK, we'll just make the defense win the games just by taking the ball away constantly.

So, Phenomenal job by uh Jason Eck there at New Mexico as well.

Uh, last mid-season appraisal question, does anybody other than Jeremiah Smith belong in the Heisman conversation?

I think Jesse Legree does.

Yeah, he's awesome.

I mean, look, I understand that people are gonna grade it on a different scale, because it's the group of 6, but I don't know if there's any football player that's more explosive than this guy, and by the way, he was, he was darn good when they played Texas Tech.

He was darn good when they played Houston, and those are very good football teams, so, I think he belongs, again, if, if this ends up being a Jeremiah, Jeremiah Smith runaway.

I think we should at least find a way to get this guy in New York, like, he should, he should, he, he should get a trip because what he is doing is ridiculous.

Yeah, and I mean, and, and Jim Marcus Shepherd, the, the Oregon State coach, I mean, you, you talk about Coach of the Year, uh, he, he is certainly up there in terms of completely flipping, you know, the, the just the, the entire, uh, mood around the program there.

Um, you know, everybody was kind of questioning, all right, who is this guy, you know, coming from, from an offensive staff in Alabama and uh, who, like, and, and he, you know, this is one of the more exciting teams that they pushed two Big 12, uh, opponents, um, you know, right to, to the end of the second half, and, uh, you know, they look like probably the Boise State's biggest.

Threat they're in the Pac-12, uh, which I don't think anybody kind of had on their, on their radar at this point, uh, coming into the season.

So, you know, kudos to everybody there in Corvallis.

Um, you know, they, they've been through a lot these last couple of years, and to see them have some, some success and to see them have a player like this, um, you know, even Atkinson, the, uh, the quarterback there, uh, he, he's been phenomenal.

So, uh, kudos to everybody there.

Um, I, I would say too also, I, I, I do want to add in another, uh, Coach of the Year candidate, uh, if, if I may, uh, here.

At the end, uh, I, I would say, uh, Morgan Scally at Utah, uh, that is a program that, uh, should be undefeated going into the holy war.

Um, and they are also a threat, I think, in the Beehive State to, uh, potentially make the playoffs.

And, and they, they've got an efficient offense.

I mean, you look at, um, you know, a lot of questions about, uh, you know, can, they're running two quarterbacks out there at this point.

Um, you know, like, you know, the, the defense is obviously going to be the Utah defense that we always expected, but, um, you know, I think there are a lot of question marks in terms of the offense, but, uh, that, They've kept opponents off balance and, uh, they look like another threat in the Big 12.

So, um, you know, kudos to them.

And I, I, I would be curious in terms of narratives about the Heisman.

Yes, it does seem like it's Jeremiah Smith's to lose, but, um, you know, could, could anybody like, you know, have some sort of second-half surge, you know, like maybe it is, uh, you know, uh, Keyen Russell at Alabama.

You know, if, if he turns around and starts posting those highlight plays and he starts knocking off a bunch of, you know, big-time SEC opponents, I, I could see somebody like that, uh, just giving.

You know, especially in that voting block in the South, um, you're just getting a lot of interest and maybe he kind of makes a run there, and only to get to New York, but maybe threaten, uh, to kind of get the award away because we all know quarterbacks on marquee teams having playoff success, that is a recipe to, to get into the mix in the Heisman.

I think that could be potentially the case for somebody like that, uh, beyond Jeremiah Smith.

Well, how about Darian Mensah, who, who is the national leader in pass efficiency on the, on an undefeated top 5 team.

Uh, and we'll have a super marquee game against Notre Dame coming up, November 7th.

CJ Carr too, I, he's been fine this year.

He's not been dazzling.

But if either of those quarterbacks just go supernova and, and they win the game and, and they're undefeated, I think they could also factor in.

One other thing I want to just point out about Jesse Legree, right, he's a freshman.

He's from Baltimore, how they get into Oregon State, phenomenal, but He's played a total of 6 college games.

He's had 100 yards receiving in every single one of them.

I mean, like, nobody starts their career like this.

It's crazy.

Jeremiah Smith didn't start his career like that.

Now, obviously, a little different level of competition for the most part, but as, as Kevin pointed out, I mean, he lit up Texas Tech, 8 catches, 240 yards against them.

So, that's a guy to keep an eye on.

Uh, all right, guys, uh, That's the mid-season Heisman, but who won the Saturday Heisman for you?

We, we do this every week.

We hand out the weekly Heisman, and we also fire somebody.

There's still people to fire out there, even though we've already criticized several people.

But let's start with the, the, the Saturday Heisman.

Who are you giving it to?

I, I wanted to shout out Jonas Walton from Notre Dame.

Uh, I know that, obviously, like, they, they, they beat the brakes off Stanford.

It feels like a lot of Notre Dame games right now are pretty unwatchable because of how much better they are than their competition, but the one thing we were waiting to see was where would the run game come from, would it continue to come along?

And this freshman has been unbelievable, uh, 108.

1 yards yesterday on 13 carries, 2 touchdowns, uh, was the Bell cow in the second half against Carolina last week when they were in the rain and trying to grind one out, and uh that, that is a difference maker, so, uh, he, he is, he's certainly one to watch and deserves a Heisman this week to me.

I don't know if he necessarily is, is, is the Heisman, but I, I do want to give Lenori Sellers a shout out because, uh, I, I mean, that was one of the more, uh, eye-opening results in terms of South Carolina going into the swamp, all this focus on South Carolina, Shane Beamer's job status.

Lenora Sellers looks like the guy that we all kind of expected this season, being a veteran in that offense, making plays with his feet, and, uh, you know, he, he was It's not like the overwhelming wow, uh, in terms of some of the numbers, but, uh, he, he made plays when it counted.

And, uh, you know, he, he kept Florida's defense guessing, you know, kind of all day.

And, uh, that was kind of one of those head-turning type results that, uh, you know, certainly you could say, all right, Florida went from potential playoff pick for a lot of folks, uh, you know, after, after beating Ole Miss the way they did to, maybe they're 4 and 4 at the end of the month.

Uh.

Um, you know, and I think this is kind of the, one of those games that, uh, that kind of hinged on.

And because of that, it, it was the play of Lenora Sellers.

I mean, they, they got off the bus and Dylan Stewart was there and, uh, you know, there, there's a lot of, a lot of focus in terms of some of the guys that were, were coming back to the roster for the Gamecocks, but Lenora Sellers, uh, led a big-time victory, uh, that well these cool tensions there, uh, in, in Colombia for the Gamecocks.

Hey, that was the classic Shane Beamer random performance generator at work, man.

Like, when you count them out, they rise up.

When you start getting excited about them, they fall down.

That's generally the way they go.

And everybody's ready to fire Beamer and they go and not just win, but dominate on the road in the swamp.

That's, that's classic.

That's.

You never know what you're gonna get with Shane.

Uh, also shout out, shout out Noah Fafita as well.

Uh, he, he played phenomenal for Arizona.

Like that was a track me a little bit at times.

Uh, you know, I, I think West Virginia ran, uh, over 100 plays in that one, and they lost by like 3 touchdowns, and it was just, uh, you know, a wildly efficient, uh, day for, for Arizona and Noah Fafita in particular , even down on a bunch of wide receivers, man, he, he was, he, he was phenomenal, uh, was, uh , really torched that West Virginia defense, and, uh, Arizona, another team in that Big 12 to watch.

All right.

If you, if you're giving out basically Co- Heisman, so am I, uh, by design here.

The Army and Navy quarterbacks, Jackson Gutierrez at Navy, who did not start the season as the starter, and Cale Hellams at Army.

So we're in this era where running backs, if, if they carry the ball 20 times a game, they're supposed to like, just keel over and die, right?

It's too much, too much of a load, right?

We don't do that.

We got to give them 15 carries, parcel it out.

Here's what these guys did Saturday.

Jackson Gutierrez, 41 carries for 232 yards for Navy.

Cale Hellams, 38 carries for 223 yards for Army.

And they got to do everything else too.

I mean, they're running the offense, they got to take the place, they got to get everybody lined up, they've got to occasionally throw the ball .

No such thing of load management with the Service academy quarterback.

So, great job by them.

You are my uh Saturday Heisman co-winners, and I can't wait to see you guys each carry the ball 40 times when you play each other come mid-December.

All right, who are we firing this week?

Uh, Kevin, you got somebody to fire?

I mean, I, I, I just think, like, if we're, if we're calling the firing Bowl the, the idiot Olympics, like, Mike Mike Elko, I mean, we, we , we touched on it earlier, like, what are you doing?

Like, why?

You can survive.

No, I, I, I also saw a great tweet from Matt Brown that said something.

Incentive.

I don't know if calling out the calling out the online fan base is a great or horrible move when gas is this expensive at Texas A&M, but uh I really enjoyed that one.

But, yeah, I, I, again, you're going, like, I think there's at least a growing understanding that you're gonna have weird down years in in this era of college football that's turned it over a lot.

Just, just, like, I, I would love to have seen a video of the SID, uh, standing there as he said, yeah, Billy Cesspool over there, and he's like, oh, here we go, it's gonna be a long week.

So, yeah, Mike Elko gets fired for the comment, not for the football team, which is not very good, but it happens.

So many options.

Uh, I mean, you could go with Jed Fish at Washington, uh, Texas, you know, I, I, I think I'm, I'm gonna go with Steve Sarkisian, um, you know, like, you know, like we said earlier in the show, Texas lost the game a little bit more than Oklahoma won, won it, um, and, and it's Red River, it means a lot, but like, man, that was just like.

Um, you know, they, they, especially they had a chance there at the, you know, at the end of the first half, they really could have delivered a kill shot.

They, they went up tempo, the offense started moving a little bit, and everything started running, and then they just kind of slowly backed off the pedal a little bit, ended up stalling in the drive, kicked a field goal, and, uh, didn't score at all in the 3rd quarter, um, and, and allowed OU to get back into it.

So I'm, I'm gonna go with Steve Sarkisian, especially given That I think there's gonna be a little bit larger questions amongst that fan base, amongst that administration even, um, in terms of, hey, Steve, do you need to maybe give up play calling just a little bit or at least have somebody have more responsibilities on offense so that you can focus a little bit more on, on game management and, and focusing on where, where, where the game is going for the Longhorns, uh, in order to kind of get over the hump, uh, with a very high-priced roster.

Yeah , I wouldn't blame him for not wanting to give that up during the season.

Uh, that's a tough thing to, to all of a sudden pull off, uh, I think.

Sean Payton's doing it with the Broncos , but Sean Payton's been the play caller.

So this, this is more of a market correction.

I wouldn't want to be reinventing that wheel at this point.

The offense has got issues, but, but I don't think having Sark not call the plays would be the answer there.

Uh, this is a one-week firing only, but I'm firing Matt Rhule, uh, Nebraska.

They had the atmosphere, they jumped on Indiana, they took advantage.

For a long time, it looked like they had the better team, and then, like, defensively, they just like, I don't know what happened, but they just gave up massive play after massive play.

And the 4th and 1 wide open touchdown, great call by Si.

He said they stole it from Lance Leipold and Andy Kudlenicky when they were at Kansas together, but the, you know, the, The, uh, line fake, uh, and then you've got two receivers popping.

There is nobody covering either of them.

You gotta have 3 guys open on that play.

It's unbelievable.

Everybody was wide open.

How does that happen?

And that's just Nebraska underrule, close game, big shot, got a chance to beat somebody.

Uh, no, we're not gonna, not gonna do it.

And, you know, I thought they played well, and I do think they are better than they have been.

In quite some time.

But for one week only, you get that chance, man.

You've got Indiana down.

And I, this is, Indiana does this.

They came back against Iowa on the road, they came back against Penn State on the road last year, and now they've done it here, but you get that chance and you give up two walk-in touchdowns, basically, to lose the game.

So, Matt Rhule, you're fired.

You can come back next week, but you're fired today.

All right.

And the, uh, listeners, watchers, you can come back, uh, Thursday.

I'll be on with Gene Wojohoski, and then we will be back for more overreaction Sunday next week.

Thanks for checking us out.

Have a great week, everybody.